Bullyville Theme of Weakness

In a book about bullying (and called Bullyville, no less), it isn't super surprising that weakness is a theme. What's interesting is Bart's attitude toward what he perceives as weakness. He relates to people he identifies as weak (the other day students on the bus, for example), but he doesn't feel sorry for them—instead he hates them. He even goes so far as to bully one kid, Seth, on the bus (4.150). Whoa, right? And what does this say about Bart? Is it just that everyone has an inner bully, or does getting bullied simply make you mean? Over to you, Shmoopers.

1. For most of Bullyville, Tyro is the strong bully and Bart is the weak one who's bullied. Make a case for the reverse: In what ways is Bart strong? In what ways does Tyro seem weak?
2. Why does Bart seem to think that acting sad (e.g., by crying) is a display of weakness? Do you agree with him? Explain your answer.
3. Why do you think Bart seems to be so repulsed by people he perceives as weak?

In Bullyville, weakness is a characteristic that bullies identify—they choose their targets by identifying weakness.

In Bullyville, weakness is the feeling that underlies bullying behavior—bullies feel weak and so they try to seem strong by bullying others.